Do I need building regulations approval to replace a roof?
The Planning Portal says re-roofing a house in England will need building regulations approval in most situations, and that roof work which does not materially affect the external appearance of the house will usually not need planning permission. The same site says a repair or re-cover needs no building control application while less than 25 per cent of the building envelope and less than 50 per cent of the roof are affected. A patch repair sits under both limits.
Do I need building regulations approval to replace a roof?
The Planning Portal settles this. Its page on work to an existing roof says no application is normally needed to repair or re-cover a roof while both of the following hold true.
Less than 25 per cent of the total building envelope is affected. The envelope is the walls, floor, roof, windows, doors, roof windows and roof lights, counted together.
Less than 50 per cent of the roof is affected. Both have to hold at once, and breaking either makes the work notifiable.
Read the first limit carefully. The 25 per cent is the whole building envelope, not 25 per cent of the roof, and cost guides often confuse the two.
Take the strict reading. Gov.uk says you might need approval to replace roof coverings on pitched and flat roofs.
What triggers building regulations approval on a roof?
Besides the size limits, the Planning Portal names these further triggers.
Structural alterations. Cutting, moving or taking out a rafter, a purlin or a truss.
A new covering whose performance in the event of a fire is significantly different to the old one.
A new covering material that increases the weight of the roof covering by 15 per cent or more, such as concrete tile onto a roof built for slate.
The Planning Portal says that where the limits are exceeded there may be further considerations that could require work to the entire roof, such as ensuring the thermal insulation is sufficient. Its re-roofing page says that as a roof is defined as a thermal element, re-covering it should also include for improving the thermal insulation properties.
Do I need planning permission to re-roof my house?
Usually not. The Planning Portal states that work to the roof of a house, for example re-roofing, that does not materially affect its external appearance will usually not require planning permission.
A like for like re-cover in the same tile does not change the appearance.
A listed building is different. The Planning Portal says it is a criminal offence to carry out work which needs listed building consent without obtaining it beforehand, and there is no fee for that application. A conservation area changes the answer too, so ring the council first.
Who notifies building control about roof work?
Someone has to tell building control, and it is worth asking who. Gov.uk says you do not need approval yourself if you use someone registered with a competent person scheme.
Otherwise a notifiable job is signed off by a building control body: your local authority's building control department, or a private registered building control approver.
Ask any roofer these questions. Is this job notifiable? Which route does it go down? What paperwork do I hold at the end?
Without approval, gov.uk warns, you will not have the certificates of compliance you may need when you sell your home.
Plenty of roof work needs none of this: a few slipped tiles, a section of ridge repointed, a gutter run taken off and put back.
We give a free estimate and free advice, and we will talk you through where your job sits before you commit to anything. Ring 07477 536 273 and ask.
Where this comes from
Every rule on this page is taken from the official source named beside it. Nothing here is our interpretation of what the rules probably mean.
Planning Portal, Building Regulations: Work to an existing roof, https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/roof/building-regulations-work-to-an-existing-roof/, read 2026-08-31
Planning Portal, Building Regulations: Re-roofing, https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/roof/building-regulations-re-roofing/, read 2026-08-31
Planning Portal, Roof: Planning Permission, https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/roof/roof-planning-permission/, read 2026-08-31
Planning Portal, Listed building consent, https://www.planningportal.co.uk/planning/planning-applications/consent-types/listed-building-consent/, read 2026-08-31
GOV.UK, Building regulations approval, https://www.gov.uk/building-regulations-approval, read 2026-08-31
Common questions
- Do I need building regulations approval to replace all my roof tiles?
- Almost certainly yes. A full re-cover affects the whole roof, so it goes over the 50 per cent limit on its own, and that alone makes the work notifiable. The Planning Portal's re-roofing page says that in most situations replacing the roof on an existing building will need Building Regulations approval.
- Does replacing a few broken tiles need approval?
- Usually not. A local repair sits well inside the Planning Portal's limits, so there is nothing to notify. On a listed building it is different, because consent is needed for any alteration likely to affect its character, so ring the council first.
- Do I need planning permission to change to a different roof tile?
- Possibly. The Planning Portal's test is whether the work materially affects the external appearance of the house, and a like for like re-cover does not. A visibly different covering might, so ask the council before you order.
Get an estimate
Tell us what the roof is doing
Estimates and advice are free. Ring and describe the problem, or send a photograph of it, and you will get a straight answer about whether it needs a repair or a new roof.
All work guaranteed.
Want us to take a look at the roof?
Leave a name and a number and we will ring back to sort a time. Estimates and advice are free.